2 Corinthians 12:4

Into paradise - The word “paradise” (παράδεισος paradeisos) occurs but three times in the New Testament; Luk 23:43; 2Co 12:4; Rev 2:7. It occurs often in the Septuagint, as the translation of the word garden; Gen 2:8-10, Gen 2:15-16; Gen 3:1-3, Gen 3:8,Gen 3:16, Gen 3:23-24; Gen 13:10; Num 24:6; Isa 51:3; Eze 28:13; Eze 31:8-9; Joe 2:3. And also Isa 1:30; Jer 29:5; and of the word פּרדס pardēc in Neh 2:8; Ecc 2:5; Son 2:13. It is a word which had its origin in the language of eastern Asia, and which has been adopted in the Greek, the Roman, and other western languages. In Sanskrit the word “paradesha” means a land elevated and cultivated; in Armenian, “pardes” denotes a garden around the house planted with trees, shrubs, grass for use and ornament. In Persia, the word denotes the pleasure gardens and parks with wild animals around the country residences of the monarchs and princes. Hence, it denotes in general a garden of pleasure; and in the New Testament is applied to the abodes of the blessed after death, the dwelling-place of God and of happy spirits; or to heaven as a place of blessedness. Some have supposed that Paul here by the word “paradise” means to describe a different place from that denoted by the phrase “the third heaven;” but there is no good reason for this supposition. The only difference is that this word implies the idea of a place of blessedness; but the same place is undoubtedly referred to.

And heard unspeakable words - The word which is rendered here as “unspeakable” (ἄῤῥητα arrēta) may either mean what cannot be spoken, or what ought not to be spoken. The word means unutterable, ineffable; and whichever idea we attach to it, Paul meant to say that he could not attempt by words to do justice to what he saw and heard. The use of the word “words” here would seem to imply that he heard the language of exalted praise; or that there were truths imparted to his mind which he could not hope to convey in any language spoken by people.

Which it is not lawful for a man to utter - Margin, “Possible.” Witsius supposes that the word ἐξὸν exon may include both, and Doddridge accords with the interpretation. See also Robinson’s Lexicon. The word is most commonly used in the signification of lawful. Thus, Mat 14:4, “It is not lawful for thee to have her.” Act 16:21, “which it is not lawful for us to observe;” Act 22:25, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman,” etc. In the same sense of lawful it is used in Mat 12:2, Mat 12:10, Mat 12:12; Mat 20:15; Mar 2:26; Mar 10:2. When it refers to possibility it probably means moral possibility; that is, propriety, or it means that it is right. It seems to me, therefore, that the word here rather means that it was not proper to give utterance to those things; it would not be right to attempt it. It might be also true that it would not have been possible for language to convey clearly the ideas connected with the things which Paul was then permitted to see; but the main thought is, that there was some reason why it would not be proper for him to have attempted to communicate those ideas to people at large The Jews held that it was unlawful to pronounce the Tetragrammaton. that is, the name of four letters יהוה Yahweh; and whenever that name occurred in their scriptures, they substituted the name אדני ‛Adonaay in its place. They maintain indeed that the true pronunciation is utterly lost, and none of them to this day attempt to pronounce it. But this was mere superstition; and it is impossible that Paul should have been influenced by any such reason as this.

The transaction here referred to is very remarkable. It is the only instance in the Scriptures of anyone who was taken to heaven, either in reality or in vision, and who returned again to the earth and was then qualified to communicate important truths about the heavenly world from personal observation. Enoch and Elijah were taken to heaven; but they returned not to converse with people. Elijah appeared with Moses in conversation with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration; but they conversed with him only about his decease, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem; Luk 9:31. There would have been no propriety for them to have spoken to Jesus of heaven, for he came down from heaven and was in heaven Joh 3:13, and they were not permitted to speak to the disciples of heaven. Lazarus was raised from the dead John 11, and many of the saints which had slept in their graves arose at the death of Jesus Mat 27:52, but there is no intimation that they communicated any thing to the living about the heavenly world.

Of all the million who have been taken to heaven, not one has been permitted to return to bear his testimony to its glories; to witness for God that he is faithful to his promises; to encourage his pious friends to persevere; or to invite his impenitent friends to follow him to that glorious world. And so fixed is the Law; so settled is the principle, that even Lazarus was not permitted to go, though at the earnest request of the rich man in hell, and warn his friends not to follow hint to that world of woe; Luk 16:27-31. Muhammed indeed feigned that he had made a journey to heaven, and he attempts to describe what he saw; and the difference between true inspiration and false or pretended inspiration is strikingly evinced by the difference between Paul’s dignified silence - verba sacro digna silentio (Horace) and the puerilities of the prophet of Mecca. See the Koran, chap. 17. As the difference between the true religion and imposture is strikingly illustrated by this, we may recur to the principal events which happened to the impostor on his celebrated journey.

The whole account may be seen in Prideaux’s Life of Muhammed, pp. 43ff. He solemnly affirmed that he had been translated to the heaven of heavens; that on a white beast, less than a mule, but larger than an ass, he had been conveyed from the temple of Mecca to that of Jerusalem; had successively ascended the seven heavens with his companion Gabriel, receiving and returning the salutations of its blessed inhabitants; had then proceeded alone within two bow-shots of the throne of the Almighty, when he felt a cold which pierced him to the heart, and was touched on the shoulder by the hand of God, who commanded him to pray 50 times a day, but with the advice of Moses he was prevailed on to have the number reduced to five; and that he thru returned to Jerusalem and to Mecca, having performed a journey of thousands of years in the tenth part of a night.

The fact that Paul was not permitted to communicate what he had seen is very remarkable. It is natural to ask why it is so? Why has not God sent down departed saints to tell people of the glories of heaven? Why does he not permit them to come and bear testimony to what they have seen and enjoyed? Why not come and clear up the doubts of the pious; why not come and convince a thoughtless world; why not come and bear honorable testimony for God that he is faithful to reward his people? And especially why did he not suffer Paul, whom he had permitted to behold the glories of paradise, to testify simply to what he had seen, and tell us what was there?

To these questions, so obvious, it is impossible to give an answer that we can demonstrate to be the true one. But we may suggest some reasons which may furnish a plausible answer, and which may serve to remove some of the perplexity in the case. I would, therefore, suggest that the following may have been some of the reasons why Paul was not permitted to communicate what he saw to human beings:

(1) It was designed for the support of Paul himself in view of the very remarkable trials which he was about to endure. God had called him to great toils and self-denials. He was to labor much alone; to go to foreign lands; to be persecuted, and ultimately put to death; and it was his purpose to qualify him for this work by some special manifestation of his favor. He accordingly gave him such views of heaven that he would be supported in his trials by a conviction of the undoubted truth of what he taught, and by the prospect of certain glory when his labors should end. It was one instance when God gave special views to prepare for trials, as he often does to his people now, preparing them in a unique manner for special trials. Christians, from some cause, often have more elevated views and deeper feeling before they are called to endure trials than they have at other times - special grace to prepare them for suffering. But as this was designed in a special manner for Paul alone, it was not proper for him to communicate what he saw to others.

(2) It is probable that if there were a full revelation of the glories of heaven we should not be able to comprehend it; or even if we did, we should be incredulous in regard to it. So unlike what we see; so elevated above our highest comprehension; probably so unlike what we now anticipate is heaven, that we should be slow to receive the revelation. It is always difficult to describe what we have not seen, even on earth, so that we shall have any very clear idea of it: how much more difficult must it be to describe heaven. We are often incredulous about what is reported to exist in foreign lands on earth which we have not seen, and a long time is often necessary before we will believe it. The king of Siam, when told by the Dutch ambassador that water became so hard in his country that people might walk on it, said, “I have often suspected you of falsehood, but now I know that you lie.” So incredulous might we be, with our weak faith, if we were told what actually exists in heaven. We should not improbably turn away from it as wholly incredible.

(3) There are great truths which it is not the design of God to reveal to human beings. The object is to communicate enough to win us, to comfort us, to support our faith, not to reveal all. In eternity there must be boundless truths and glories which are not needful for us to know now, and which, on many accounts, it would not be proper to be revealed to man. The question is not, do we know all, but have we enough safely to guide us to heaven, and to comfort us in the trials of life.

(4) There is enough revealed of heaven for our guidance and comfort in this world. God has told us what it will be in general. It will be a world without sin; without tears; without wrong, injustice, fraud, or wars; without disease, pestilence, plague, death; and it is easy to fill up the picture sufficiently for all our purposes. Let us think of a world where all shall be pure and holy; of a world free from all that we now behold that is evil; free from pain, disease, death; a world where “friends never depart, foes never come;” a world where all shall be harmony and love - and where all this shall be eternal, and we shall see that God has revealed enough for our welfare here. The highest hopes of man are met when we anticipate an eternal heaven; the heaviest trials may be cheerfully borne when we have the prospect of everlasting rest.

(5) One other reason may be assigned why it was not proper for Paul to disclose what he saw, and why God has withheld more full revelations from men about heaven. It is, that his purpose is that we shall here walk by faith and not by sight. We are not to see the reward, nor to be told fully what it is. We are to have such confidence in God that we shall assuredly believe that, he will fully reward and bless us, and under this confidence we are to live and act here below. God designs, therefore, to try our faith, and to furnish an abundant evidence that his people are disposed to obey his commands and to put their trust in his faithfulness. Besides, if all the glories of heaven were revealed; if all were told that might be; and if heaven were made as attractive to mortal view as possible, then it might appear that his professed people were influenced solely by the hope of the reward. As it is, there is enough to support and comfort; not enough to make it the main and only reason why we serve God. It may be added:

That we have all the truth which we shall ever have about heaven here below. No other messenger will come; none of the pious dead will return. If people, therefore, are not willing to be saved in view of the truth which they have, they must be lost. God will communicate no more. The Christian will soon know all about heaven. He will soon be there. He begins no day with any certainty that he may not close it in heaven; he lies down to rest at no time with any assurance that he will not wake in heaven amidst its full and eternal splendors. The sinner will soon know fully what it is to lose heaven. A moment may make him fully sensible of his loss - for he may die; and a moment may put him forever beyond the possibility of reaching a world of glory.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2Co 12:4. How that he was caught up into paradise — The seat of happy spirits, in their separate state between death and the resurrection. See note on Luk 23:43. Most of the ancients, (except Origen,) as Clement of Alexandria, Justin Martyr, Ireneus, Tertullian, and, among the moderns, Bull, Whitby, Bengelius, were of opinion that the apostle had two different raptures; because, as Methodius very well argues, If one rapture only were spoken of, the repetition of whether in the body, &c., would have been needless, when speaking of his being caught up into paradise. And heard unspeakable words — Or things, words being frequently used by the Hebrews to denote matters: which it is not lawful — Or possible, as the word εξον properly signifies, and as the apostle doubtless means; for a man to utter — Men having no terms of speech fit to express such sublime ideas as the apostle was there taught to understand: nor, probably, would it be consistent with the schemes of Providence, which require that we should be conducted by faith rather than by sight, to suffer such circumstances as these to be revealed to the inhabitants of mortal flesh. It is justly observed by Dr. Macknight here, that since the things which he saw and heard in paradise could not, or might not, be expressed in human language, “it is plain that the purpose for which he was caught up was not to receive any revelation of the gospel doctrine, because that could have served no purpose, if the apostle could not communicate what he heard. But it was to encourage him in the difficult and dangerous work in which he was engaged. Accordingly, by taking him up into paradise, and showing him the glories of the invisible world, and making him a witness of the happiness which the righteous enjoy with Christ, even before their resurrection, his faith in the promises of the gospel must have been so exceedingly strengthened, and his hope so raised, as to enable him to bear with alacrity that heavy load of complicated evils to which he was exposed in the course of his ministry. Not to mention that this confirmation of the apostle’s faith is no small confirmation of ours also.” Some suppose that it was here the apostle was made acquainted with the mystery of the future state of the church, and received his orders to turn from the Jews, and go to the Gentiles.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 12:4. Ἄῤῥητα) unspeakable words, not in themselves; otherwise Paul could not have heard them; but not to be spoken by man, as the word follows presently after, and therefore, by Paul himself. Who spoke those words? God, or Christ, or an angel or angels, or the spirits of the just? and to whom? Paul does not tell, if he knew. They were certainly words of great sublimity, for all heavenly words are not unspeakable, for example Exo 34:6; Isa 6:3, and yet these are very sublime.—οὐκ ἐξὸν, it is not lawful) ἐξὸν and δυνατὸν, lawful and possible are said of that which neither the thing itself, nor the law forbids. Therefore, unspeakable words, and it is not lawful mutually explain each other, and affirm either that man cannot speak these words, or that it is not lawful for him to do so. Others, who did not hear them, cannot; Paul, who did hear them, is not sufficiently able; and though he were able, yet it would not be lawful, it would not be proper in the state of mortality; because the inhabitants of the earth would not understand them, Joh 3:12. Hearing has a wider range than speaking.—ἀνθρώπῳ, for a man) construed with it is lawful. The power of speaking is often narrower than that of knowledge.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. ὅτι ἡρπάγη εἰς τὸν παράδεισον. If the repetition of ἁρπάγεσθαι is somewhat in favour of the identification of paradise with the third heaven, the καὶ before οἶδα (2Co 12:3) is in favour of separate cases of rapture. ‘I know a man … and I know such a one’ points to two experiences: haec iterata plane duplex rei momentum exprimunt (Bengel). Had S. Paul put a καί before εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, there could have been no doubt. Irenaeus (II. xxx. 7) plainly distinguishes the two; “was caught up even to the third heaven, and again was carried into paradise.” Tertullian (de Praes. Haer. 24) similarly; “was caught up even to the third heaven and was carried into paradise.” Clement of Alexandria (Strom. v. xii. p. 693 ed. Potter) also; “caught up even to the third heaven and thence into paradise.” Cyril of Jerusalem (Cat. Lect. xiv. 26) likewise; “Elijah was taken up only to heaven; but Paul both into heaven and into paradise.” Epiphanius writes to John, Bishop of Jerusalem; “When he mentions the third heaven, and then adds the word ‘paradise,’ he shows that heaven is in one place and paradise in another” (Jerome, Ep. li. 5). But we are unable to fix the meaning of either ‘third heaven’ or ‘paradise.’

From the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Levi 2, 3) we know that some Jews about S. Paul’s time distinguished seven heavens; in which they were followed by the Valentinian Gnostics, and later by the Mahometans. But we do not know whether this idea was familiar to S. Paul; still less whether he is alluding to it here. Irenaeus (II. xxx. 7) contends against the notion that the Apostle reached the third of the Valentinian heavens and left the four higher heavens unvisited. Here, ἕως implies that the ‘third heaven’ is a very high heaven, if not the highest; and he uses both ‘third heaven’ and ‘paradise’ as terms which his readers will be likely to understand. But we cannot infer from this that both terms were already familiar to them. S. Bernard (de Grad. Hum.) makes the three heavens symbolize the Trinity and the three graces of humility, charity, and perfect union with the Father in glory.

Jewish ideas respecting paradise were fantastic and conflicting. Sometimes it was thought of as the Garden of Eden, either still remaining on earth or removed to another world; sometimes as that part of the region below the earth in which the souls of the righteous are at peace; sometimes as a region in heaven; which seems to be the meaning here. The Book of the Secrets of Enoch (which, like the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, was written about the time of S. Paul, and therefore is evidence for ideas current in his day) throws much light on this subject. It describes the seven heavens, and in one place either the third heaven is paradise or it contains paradise: “These men took me from thence and placed me in the midst of a garden … and in the midst [is] the tree of life, in that place on which God rests when He comes into paradise” (viii. 1–3). In another passage the idea is different: “I went to the East, to the paradise of Eden, where rest has been prepared for the just, and it is open to the third heaven, and shut from this world” (xlii. 3). In the Testaments (Levi 18) ‘the heavens’ and ‘paradise’ seem to be different. In the Psalms of Solomon (14:2), in the παράδεισος κυρίου, the saints are the trees of life (a great advance on the usual materialism); but there is no indication of the relation of heaven to paradise.

It is impossible to determine whether S. Paul was influenced by, or even was acquainted with, any of these ideas. With the thought of a plurality of heavens we may compare ὁ ἀναβὰς ὑπεράνω πάντων τῶν οὐρανῶν (Eph 4:10) and ἀρχιερέα μέγαν διεληλυθότα τούς οὐρανούς (Heb 4:14; comp. Heb 7:26). Only three times does the word παράδεισος occur in the N.T. (here; Luk 23:43; Rev 2:7). In the O.T. it is either ‘a pleasure-ground’ (Neh 2:8; Son 4:13; Ecc 2:5) or ‘the garden of Eden’ (Gen 2:9-10; Gen 2:15-16, &c.). Nowhere does it appear to be used to convey any special revelation respecting the unseen world. See Hastings’ DB. ii. pp. 668 ff.

In the Fathers S. Paul is sometimes said to have heard unutterable words in the third heaven. This is mere laxity of quotation: it is no proof that the writer identifies paradise with the third heaven.

ἤκουσεν ἄρρητα ῥήματα ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπῳ λαλῆσαι. The play upon words (comp. 2Co 1:13, 2Co 3:2, 2Co 4:8, &c.) can be reproduced in English; unutterable utterances which a man may (Mat 12:4; Act 2:29) not speak (2Co 2:17, 2Co 4:13, 2Co 7:14). The last clause explains ἄρρητα, ‘things which may not be uttered,’ arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui (Vulgate). He has no right, not he is unable, to utter them. The word ἄρρητος is found here only in Biblical Greek, but is fairly common in classical Greek of sacred names, mysteries, &c. The addition of ἀνθρώπῳ is not superfluous: no human being ought to repeat on earth what has been said in heaven. Calvin here has some good remarks as to the vanity of speculation respecting the things which the Apostle was not allowed to reveal. Stanley contrasts the reticence of the Apostle with the details given by Mahomet. People who claim to have received revelations commonly do give details. It is specially remarkable that S. Paul never quotes these experiences in heaven as evidence for his teaching. How easy to have claimed special revelation in defence of his treatment of the Gentiles! There is a somewhat similar paronomasia in the ἀλάλους λαλεῖν of Mar 7:37.

This statement about ‘hearing unutterable utterances’ is in itself conclusive against the identification of this incident with the trance in the Temple (Act 22:17 ff.), in telling of which the Apostle says nothing as to his being caught up to heaven, but does tell what the Lord said to him. Moreover, the trance in the Temple seems to have taken place at an earlier date than this incident. 2 Corinthians was probably written about A.D. 57. ‘Fourteen years ago’ takes us back to about A.D. 43. But the trance appears to have followed soon after the conversion, which cannot be placed either much earlier or much later than A.D. 37 (see on 2Co 11:32); and there cannot have been six years between the conversion and the trance. But if the identification of this incident with the trance is chronologically impossible, still more impossible is its identification with the conversion; yet this also has been suggested. Perhaps the strangest theory of all is the one which identifies the being caught up even to the third heaven with the unconsciousness caused by the stoning at Lystra, when he was supposed to be dead (Act 14:19). Could S. Paul write of unconsciousness after being nearly killed by maltreatment in such words as he uses here? On the “reticence, or studied vagueness, or emphatic assertion of the symbolism,” of Scripture respecting the special revelations of God made to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Ezekiel, S. Stephen, and S. Paul, see Lightfoot, Sermons on Special Occasions, pp. 94–97.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. εἰς τὸν παράδεισον. See on Luk 23:43 and Sewte on Rev 2:7, the only other passages in N.T. in which παράδεισος occurs; also Hastings, DB. ii. pp. 668 f., DCG. ii. p. 318; Salmond, Christ. Doct. of Immortality, pp. 346 f. The word tells us little about the nature of the unseen world. In the O.T. it is used either of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:9, Gen 2:2:10, Gen 2:15, etc.) or of a park or pleasure-ground (Son 4:13; Ecc 2:5; Joe 2:3; etc.); but it represents three or four different Hebrew words. We must leave open the question as to whether St Paul regards paradise and the third heaven as identical, or as quite different, or as one containing the other, for there is no clue to the answer. See Int. Journal of Apocrypha, July 1914, pp. 74 f.

ἤκουσεν ἄρρητα ῥήματα. ‘He heard unutterable utterances.’ The verbal contradiction may be accidental, but it is probably another instance of playing upon words of which St Paul is fond (1:13, 3:2, 4:8, 5:4, 6:10, 7:10, 10:5, 6, 12).* Neither ‘unspeakable words’ (AV, RV) nor arcana verba (Vulg.) exactly reproduces the Greek. The latter might be effata ineffabilia. Cf. ἀλάλους λαλεῖν (Mar 7:37). Ἄρρητος is used in class. Grk. of things which cannot be expressed in words (cf. στεναγμοῖς ἀλαλήτοις, Rom 8:26); but more often of things which are either too sacred or too horrible to be mentioned, nefanda. What follows shows what is the meaning here, the only place in Bibl. Grk. in which the word occurs.

ἃ οὐκ ἐξὸν ἀνθρώπͅ λαλῆσαι. No doubt ἀνθρώπῳ is to be taken with ἐξόνrather than with λαλῆσαι: ‘which it is not lawful (Mat 12:4; Act 2:29) for a man to speak,’ rather than ‘not lawful to say to a man’: non licet homini loqui (Vulg.) will fit either interpretation, but the difference between the two is not very great. That he heard the voices of the heavenly choir, and similar conjectures, are not very wise. The question, what was the use of the revelation, if the Apostle might not make known what was revealed? can be answered. It was a source of strength to the Apostle himself in his overwhelming trials, and thus a source of strength also to the millions whom he has encouraged. Cf. 10:4, where the seer is told not to write down what he heard. See Abbott, Johannine Grammar, p. 305.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Which no man is able to utter.

Which the Saints themselves are not by any means able to express, because it is God himself. Thus doth Clement Alexandria expound this place, Strom. 5.

So the Grecians name that which we call a park, that is to say, a place where trees are planted, and wild beasts kept, by which name they that translated the old Testament out of the Hebrew into Greek, called the garden Eden, whereunto Adam was put straight after his creation, as a most delicate and pleasant place. And hereunto grew it, that that blessed seat of the glory of God is called by that name.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

unspeakable--not in themselves, otherwise Paul could not have heard them; but as the explanation states, "which it is not lawful . . . to utter" [ALFORD]. They were designed for Paul's own consolation, and not for communication to others. Some heavenly words are communicable (Exo 34:6; Isa 6:3). These were not so. Paul had not the power adequately to utter; nor if he had, would he have been permitted; nor would earthly men comprehend them (Joh 3:12; Co1 2:9). A man may hear and know more than he can speak.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 4. Caught up into paradise] The Jewish writers have no less than four paradises, as they have seven heavens; but it is needless to wade through their fables. On the word paradise See Clarke on Ge 2:8. The Mohammedans call it [Arabic] jennet alferdoos, the garden of paradise, and say that God created it out of light, and that it is the habitation of the prophets and wise men.

Among Christian writers it generally means the place of the blessed, or the state of separate spirits. Whether the third heaven and paradise be the same place we cannot absolutely say; they probably are not; and it is likely that St. Paul, at the time referred to, had at least two of these raptures.

Which it is not lawful for a man to utter.] The Jews thought that the Divine name, the Tetragrammaton יהוה Yehovah, should not be uttered, and that it is absolutely unlawful to pronounce it; indeed they say that the true pronunciation is utterly lost, and cannot be recovered without an express revelation. Not one of them, to the present day, ever attempts to utter it; and, when they meet with it in their reading, always supply its place with אדני Adonai, Lord. It is probable that the apostle refers to some communication concerning the Divine nature and the Divine economy, of which he was only to make a general use in his preaching and writing. No doubt that what he learned at this time formed the basis of all his doctrines.

Cicero terms God illud inexprimible, that inexpressible Being. And Hermes calls him ανεκλαλητος, αρῥητος, σιωπῃ φωνουμενος: The ineffable, the unspeakable, and that which is to be pronounced in silence. We cannot have views too exalted of the majesty of God; and the less frequently we pronounce his name, the more reverence shall we feel for his nature. It is said of Mr. Boyle that he never pronounced the name of God without either taking off his hat or making a bow. Leaving out profane swearers, blasphemers, and such like open-faced servants of Satan, it is distressing to hear many well intentioned people making unscripturally free with this sacred name.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. In paradise As every region that is peculiarly agreeable and delightful is called in the Scriptures the garden of God, it came from this to be customary among the Greeks to employ the term paradise to denote the heavenly glory, even previously to Christ’s advent, as appears from Ecclesiasticus. (Sirach, 40, 17, 27.) It is also used in this sense in Luke 23:43, in Christ’s answer to the robber — “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” that is, “Thou shalt enjoy the presence of God, in the condition and life of the blessed.”

Heard unspeakable words By words here I do not understand things, as the term is wont to be made use of after the manner of the Hebrews; for the word heard would not correspond with this. Now if any one inquires, what they were, the answer is easy — that it is not without good reason that they are called unspeakable words, and such as it is unlawful to utter. Some one, however, will reply, that what Paul heard was, consequently, needless and useless, for what purpose did it serve to hear, what was to be buried in perpetual silence? I answer, that this took place for the sake of Paul himself, for one who had such arduous difficulties awaiting him, enough to break a thousand hearts, required to be strengthened by special means, that he might not give way, but might persevere undaunted. Let us consider for a little, how many adversaries his doctrine had, and of what sort they were; and farther, with what a variety of artifices it was assailed, and then we shall wonder no longer, why he heard more than it was lawful for him to utter

From this, too, we may gather a most useful admonition as to setting bounds to knowledge. We are naturally prone to curiosity. Hence, neglecting altogether, or tasting but slightly, and carelessly, doctrine that tends to edification, we are hurried on to frivolous questions. Then there follow upon this — boldness and rashness, so that we do not hesitate to decide on matters unknown, and concealed.

From these two sources has sprung up a great part of scholastic theology, and every thing, which that trifler Dionysius has been so daring as to contrive in reference to the Heavenly Hierarchies, It becomes us so much the more to keep within bounds, so as not to seek to know any thing, but what the Lord has seen it good to reveal to his Church. Let this be the limit of our knowledge.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(4)That he was caught up into paradise.—The stress laid on this second vision hinders us from thinking of it as identical with the former, either in time or in object-matter. Paradise (see Note on Luk_23:43) was emphatically the dwelling-place of the souls of the righteous, the reproduction in the unseen world of the lost beauty of the Garden of Eden—the “paradise of joy,” as the LXX. in Gen_2:15 translates the name. There, flowing about the throne of God, was the fountain of the water of life, and the tree of life growing on its banks (Rev_2:7; Rev_22:1-2). Speculations on the question whether St. Paul thought of it as nearer or farther from earth than the third heaven are obviously idle and profitless. The nearest approach which we can make to an adequate distinction between the two visions is that the first revealed to his gaze the glory of the Throne of God, with angels and archangels round it, and seraphim and cherubim,—a vision like that of Moses (Exo_24:10), and Isaiah (Isa_6:1-3), and Ezekiel (Eze_1:4-28), and St. John (Rev_4:2-11)—thoughts like those of Hooker’s death-bed (Walton’s Life)—while the latter brought before his spirit the peace and rest ineffable, even in their intermediate and therefore imperfect state, of the souls who had fallen asleep in Christ and were waiting for their resurrection.

Unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.—The first two words present the tone of a paradox—speech unspeakable, or utterances unutterable. The verb in the second clause hovers between the text, “it is not lawful” and “it is not possible.” The hymns which St. John records in Rev_4:8-9; Rev_5:12-14; Rev_7:12; Rev_15:3, may give us some faint approach to what dwelt in St. Paul’s memory and yet could not be reproduced. Sounds of ineffable sweetness, bursts of praise and adoration, hallelujahs like the sound of many waters, voices low and sweet as those of children, whispers which were scarcely distinguishable from silence and yet thrilled the soul with a rapturous joy—this we may, perhaps, think of as underlying St. Paul’s language. In the mystic ecstatic utterances of the Tongues—themselves needing an interpreter, and helping little to build up those who heard them, though they raised the life of those who spoke with them to a higher level—we may, perhaps, trace some earthly echoes of that heavenly music. (See Notes on Act_2:4; 1Co_14:2.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. how that he was caught up into paradise] Was this a second vision, or only an extension of the first? St Paul’s language makes the latter more probable. Early tradition is not very clear upon the subject, but the general opinion seems to have been that St Paul was not only caught up to the highest heaven, and there saw visions of God like those of Isaiah and St John, but that he was transported among the saints departed to that particular region of heaven called Paradise, and was permitted to hear the words there uttered. The word Paradise is probably an Aryan word, and is found in Sanscrit and Persian as well as in Greek. But it is also found in Hebrew, Arabic and Syriac. It signifies originally a park or pleasure-ground. It is used apparently in this sense in Rev_2:7. But in St Luk_23:43 it clearly means the place (or rather state, since it is difficult to predicate place of a disembodied spirit) of rest and refreshment to which the Lord conducted the soul of the penitent thief as well as (1Pe_3:19; 1Pe_4:6, cf. Iren. Adv. Haer. iv. 27) the souls of those who were waiting in the unseen world for the revelation of Him. So says Irenaeus (Adv. Haer. 2Co_12:5), who, quoting as he often does the words of the Elders who had seen the Apostles, with whom he had often conversed, describes Paradise as a state of things “prepared for righteous men and men led by the Spirit, who remain there until the consummation, as a preparation for immortality.” Some have thought that Paradise is a yet more exalted place than the third heaven. But if we are right in regarding the third as the highest heaven, it is scarcely possible to see in Paradise something higher still. For visions of this kind cf. Isa_6:1; Eze_3:14; Eze_3:22; Eze_3:24; Eze_8:1; Eze_11:1; Eze_11:24; Eze_37:1; Eze_40:1-3; Eze_43:5; Rev_1:10, and in a lesser degree Act_8:39.

unspeakable words] Literally, unspoken words, which may in this case have been the fact, since if St Paul were out of the body, as he himself tells us he may have been, the words could not have been spoken in our sense of the word. But the epithet usually has the sense which the context attaches to it here, words not to be uttered. Calvin asks to what purpose then were they uttered to St Paul, and replies that he needed such spiritual consolation to sustain him in the heavy load of afflictions and cares which was laid upon him. We may also hence learn, he continues, that there are depths in the counsels of God which we must not hope or even wish to penetrate while here on earth. Dean Stanley contrasts the reticence of St Paul with the full details of his supposed visions given by Mahomet, and he might have added many others who have given detailed accounts of things seen in their ecstasies.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For though I would desire to glory,..... Had a mind to it, chose it, and was fond of it, thought fit to proceed in this way concerning this vision, or this with many others:

I shall not be a fool; in reality; though he might seem and be thought to be so by others; he does indeed before call his glorying "folly", and "speaking foolishly"; but he means only as it might be interpreted by others, for in fact it was not: the reason is,

for I will say the truth; he said nothing but what was strictly true, in the account of himself in the preceding chapter, and appeals to God as his witness; nor anything in the relation of this vision, but what was entirely agreeable to truth; and to speak truth, though it be of a man's self, when he is called to it, cannot be deemed folly;

but now I forbear; he did not choose to go on, or say any more upon this head at this time; though he had many visions, and an abundance of revelations, yet he did not judge it proper to give a particular account of them:

lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me; should take him to be more than human, as before this the Lycaonians at Lystra did; who supposed that he and Barnabas were gods come down in the likeness of men, and brought out their oxen and garlands to do sacrifice to them; and as, after this, the inhabitants of Melita, seeing the viper drop from his hand without any hurt to him, said he was a god; to prevent such extravagant notions of him, he forbore to say any more of his extraordinary visions and revelations; but chose rather that men should form their judgments of him by what they saw in him and heard from him, as a minister of the Gospel.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

Ver. 4. How that he was caught up] Not locally (likely) but in spirit, as Act 7:56; Eze 8:3.

into Paradise] Heaven, whereof that earthly paradise was but a dark shadow. Jerome comforting a young hermit, bade him look up to heaven, Et Paradisum mente deambulare, to take a few turns in Paradise by his meditations, assuring him that so long as he had Paradise in his mind and heaven in his thought, tamdiu in eremo non eris, he should not be sensible of his solitariness.

Unspeakable words] ρηματα αρρητα, wordless words, such as words are too weak to utter. Nec Christus nec coelum patitur hyperbolen. A man cannot hyperbolize in speaking of Christ and heaven, but must entreat his hearers, as Cicero doth his readers, concerning the worth of Lucius Crassus, Ut maius quiddam de iis quam quae scripta sunt suspicarentur, that they would conceive much more than he was able to express. It is as easy to compass the heaven with a span or contain the sea in a nutshell, as to relate heaven’s happiness.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Caught up into paradise. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas are of opinion that this third heaven and paradise are the same place, and designate the abode of the blessed. In order to understand the language of the apostle, we must observe that the Hebrews distinguished three different heavens. The first comprised the air, the clouds, &c. as far as the fixed stars. The second included all the fixed stars; and the third was the abode of Angels, in which God himself discovered his infinite glory, &c. The first is called in Scripture simply the heavens, the second the firmament, and the third heaven the heaven of heavens. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

4. Paradise—Compare our notes on Luk_16:19-31, and xxiii, 43. Meyer says this paradise is not here under the earth, as sheol, in which the spirits of the dead saints abide until the resurrection, as if such were the view in Luke 16. But, however it may be in the Old Testament, or in the heathen poets, it is not the conception of the New Testament that paradise is under the earth. We do think of it as below, in relation to the highest heavens, but not as subterranean. See note on Eph_4:8-10.

Heard—He appears to have heard nothing in the third heaven. Seeing and knowing were all he had to do there. But in the region nearer to his present life he was enabled to hear. Says Olshausen, “In that paradisaical scene of light he received wondrous impressions, which he describes as perceptions through the medium of hearing.” The thought is, that in the spirit-world there is no communication by articulate sounds, but by mutual impartation of thought from mind to mind. And in this view, distance in space may be no preventive of the most perfect communication. The rich man and Abraham were both in hades, (including tartarus and paradise,) both visible and audible to each other, as spirits see and hear; but that proves not that even if tartarus were below the earth’s surface, paradise must be so also. Hades may be down, but we doubt whether paradise is ever any otherwise than up.

Unspeakable words—Unutterable utterances. St. Paul borrows a charmed phrase from the rites of the pagan priesthood, who professed to possess many mysteries that must not be divulged, and words not lawful to utter. There are wonderful mysteries for us in paradise; and the words that spirit utters to spirit are too sacred for human speech, and cannot be uttered without a wonderful gift of tongues.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Into Paradise. Here, again, we encounter long speculations as to whether Paradise is the same as the third heaven; whether St., Paul is referring to two visions or two parts of one vision. Such questions are clearly insoluble, and I leave them where I find them. We shall never understand this passage otherwise than in the dim and vague outline in which St. Paul has purposely left it. All that we can know from the New Testament about Paradise must be learnt from this verse and Lu 23 and Rev_2:7, and it is extremely little. Unspeakable words. A figure of speech called an oxymoron. Utterances (or "things") incapable of utterance. Not lawful for a man to utter. How futile, then, must be the attempt to guess what they were, or on what subject!

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He was caught up into paradise - The seat of happy spirits in their separate state, between death and the resurrection. Things which it is not possible for man to utter - Human language being incapable of expressing them. Here he anticipated the joyous rest of the righteous that die in the Lord. But this rapture did not precede, but follow after, his being caught up to the third heaven: a strong intimation that he must first discharge his mission, and then enter into glory. And beyond all doubt, such a foretaste of it served to strengthen him in all his after trials, when he could call to mind the very joy that was prepared for him.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

paradise

See note on hades, (See Scofield "Luk 16:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter .

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

4. He was caught up into Paradise. Paradise and “the third heaven” evidently mean the same. The term applied to a blessed abode beyond the life in Luke 23:43 and Rev. 2:7. Heard unspeakable words. Words that would be neither right nor possible to reveal in human speech.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

4.] A solemn repetition of the foregoing, with the additional particular of his having had unspeakable revelations made to him. Some, as Strom. v. 12 (80), p. 693 P., ii. 30.7, p. 162, Athan. Rev_20, vol. i. p. 263, (or his interpreter) on Rom. xvi. lib. x. 43, vol. iv. p. 688, Œcum., al., think that this was a fresh assumption, ἕως τρίτου οὐρανοῦ κἀκεῖθεν εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, and with these Meyer agrees: but surely had this been intended, some intimation would have been given of it, either by καί, or by placing εἰς τὸν παράδεισον (as the stress would be then no longer on the fact ἁρπαγῆναι as before, but on the new place to which ἡρπάγη) in the place of emphasis before ἡρπάγη;—or, by both combined,—ὅτι καὶ εἰς τὸν παράδεισον ἡρπάγη. As it is, with the verb preceding in both clauses, and therefore no prominence given to the places as distinguished from one another, I must hold ἕως τρίτου οὐρ. to be at least so far equivalent to εἰς τὸν παράδεισον, as to be a general local description of the situation in which ὁ παράδεισος is found. The repetition of εἴτε … οἶδεν is equally accountable on either explanation, being made for solemnity and emphasis.

The παράδεισος cannot here be the Jewish Paradise, the blissful division or side of Hades (Scheol), where the spirits of the just awaited the resurrection, see note on Luk 16:22,—but the Paradise of which our Lord spoke on the Cross,—the place of happiness into which He at His Death introduced the spirits of the just: see on ref. Luke.

ἄῤῥητα ῥήματα, i.e. as explained below, words which it is not lawful to utter:—as Vulg., “arcana verba, quæ non licet homini loqui.” The interpretation, “quæ dici nequeunt,” as Beza, Estius, Calov., Olsh., al., is hardly consistent with the narrative; for in that case, as Bengel remarks, ‘Paulus non potuisset audire.’ The passages adduced by Wetst. mostly refer to the mysteries, or some secret rites: e.g. Demosth. contra Neæram, p.1369, αὕτη ἡ γυνὴ ὑμῖν ἔθυε τὰ ἄῤῥητα ἱερὰ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως, καὶ εἶδεν, ἃ οὐ προσῆκεν αὐτὴν ὁρᾷν ξένην οὖσαν.

ἃ οὐκ ἐξόν] which it is not lawful for a man to utter (see above):—imparted by God, but not to be divulged to others: and therefore, in this case, intended, we may presume, for the Apostle’s own consolation and encouragement. Of what kind they were, on by whom uttered, we have no hint given, and it were worse than trifling to conjecture. “Sublimitatis certe magnæ fuere: nam non omnia cœlestia sunt ineffabilia, v. gr. Exo 34:6, Isa 6:3, quæ tamen valde sublimia.” Bengel.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Paradise. See on Luk 23:43.

Unspeakable words [αρρητα ρηματα] . An oxymoron, speaking which may not be spoken.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.